Black History Month: Third in a series of four articles

By JACQUELINE BOSTICK / The News Herald

Published: Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 06:38 PM.

The former commissioner said he continues to serve on boards and encourage the youth, especially young black men, to “let them know there’s a future ahead of them; it’s not in drugs. … It’s in their inner-selves and getting an education.”

Whether in his chair, on campus, at church or a speaking engagement, Wilson said his message for the youth continues to uplift the idea of learning from and sharing with others.

From time to time, neighborhood youth visit the barbershop, open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., to talk with Wilson and embrace his counsel, he said.

He said conversation at the shop has changed a little from the civil rights era to today, but his experience has enabled him to shed some light on direction.

“Never give up; you don’t ever get to old. Any experience that you got from the past, it can still be used to help for the future. … Think about where you want to go in life and work toward that goal.”

PANAMA CITY — He stood next to the small, blue sink at his barbershop and flipped through picture after picture, naming his most popular customers.

“I’ve had quite a few,” Jonathan Wilson said, listing the nation’s first African-American four-star general, Daniel “Chappie” James Jr., as one of his patrons.

Truth be told, many have sat in his barber chair; however, few have walked in Wilson’s footsteps.

“I continue to work. I think God wanted us to wear out, not rust out,” he said with a slight chuckle. “I just like being around people; I like being active and, accordingly, this is one of the best ways to do that, is continue to work.”

Wilson has worked at Wilson Brothers Barber Shop for 59 years and plans to retire one day, planning to possibly sell it to an upcoming local barber.

He has witnessed the county transition from segregation to integration and, taking personal liberties as far as possible, became a catalyst for civil rights and equality in the local community.

Wilson, originally from Chipley, is one of 11 children of Mae Nona and Oliver Wilson (both deceased) and moved to the area in the early 1950s. After obtaining a barber certification in 1954 from the state capital’s Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Wilson returned to Panama City to head the Wilson Brothers Barber Shop at 723 E. Ninth Court, with his brother, the late James Calvin “J.C.” Wilson, who was also the city’s first African-American police officer.

In 1955, Wilson bought the building the shop was in, which had been rented from the owners for nine years prior.

The barber would become Panama City’s second African-American commissioner, and also the city’s longest sitting commissioner to date when he stepped down in 2009.

His wife of 56 years, Jewel Wilson, described her husband as very honest, rational and calm.

“You could always look for him to stand up for what he believed in,” she said.

Leading through grassroots

Wilson was of those who shook the chains of segregation and knocked on the doors of discrimination, shamelessly confronting racial inequality within the local community.

“I felt that I could say things and do things that a lot of other folk possibly couldn’t do,” Wilson said, noting other people shared his views but were constricted by working for “Mr. So and So.”

“But I didn’t have that problem,” he added. “I worked for myself.”

Wilson said one Sunday afternoon he took his children driving on the beach.

“They wanted to stop, but I just tell them, ‘We can’t stop right now; we’re in a hurry,’ because I know if we did stop, we would be picked on or bothered …,” he said.

However, the closed doors of segregation only spurred Wilson, a lifetime member of the NAACP, to get more involved with fighting for civil rights, organizing sit-ins, marches and pickets.

“It was our fight; it was our struggle during the movement that forced things to be opened up,” he added, noting when Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ending segregation and legal discrimination in employment, “Overall, a lot of folk acted like they were surprised” the movement was successful “and then some (white people) spoke up in our behalf.”

Wilson said he sat on multiracial discussion boards formed solely for the sake of dealing with civil rights, like the Community Concern Committee.

Every afternoon he’d make sure the TVs at his shop were on so community customers could come in and watch the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. They’d look for what was happening in Mississippi and Alabama, aligning the local movement with the national civil rights movement, he said.

His barbershop was a hub of “continued conversation about fighting for civil rights. … You’d hear that kind of conversation on a daily basis.”

“We’d work hard to get black people in the grocery store. … Every door that was closed in our face, we tried to open it,” he said. “I’m glad to say that in Bay County I have had an opportunity to be a part of opening those doors.”

Leading through politics

As a business owner and local voice for civil rights, Wilson gained the respect of community members from all racial backgrounds.

And, in December 1987, the City Commission appointed Wilson, then 51, to represent Ward 2, a predominantly black area. He filled the seat left open by the suspension of Timothy Brooks, the city’s first black commissioner.

Wilson “took very good care of his ward and also looked out for all of Panama City as a whole,” said Bob Barnard, former city commissioner and mayor pro-tem from 1987 to 2007.

“Jonathan was a person that listened and tried to help people,” Barnard said. “He’s very passionate for people, wanting Panama City to grow constructively.”

Wilson said when he was first appointed he met with members of the local community and asked them, “ ‘What do you want me to do?’ and ‘What is it that you think I need to work on?’ ”

Cleaning up dilapidated property, installing fire hydrants and paving all roads in his ward were at the top of the list.

One of the beacons of his tenure was renaming a heavily trafficked street in honor of the King.

According to 1992 News Herald articles, Wilson originally requested 11th Street to be renamed in honor of King. However, the City Commission struck it down after objections from businesses along the street. Instead, a portion of Cove Boulevard was renamed in King’s honor.

“My response is a jubilant one,'” Wilson said at the 1992 commission meeting. “It was needed because there was a great desire for it.”

Wilson also was largely responsible for MLK Day becoming a paid holiday for city employees, instituting a community redevelopment agency, the construction of the Glenwood Community Center and the renaming of the Glenwood Recreational Center in honor of King, to which Wilson said he’d hope to “bring some unity and respect.”

Nonetheless, Wilson said his greatest achievement while serving 23½ years on the City Commission was “working with the people of the community to keep them focused on what needed to be done” and getting it done.

Leading post-politics

Wilson served on the board until 2011, when the city’s citizens voted in Kenneth Brown, who currently represents Ward 2.

“You face reality in life; you know you’re not going to be there forever,” Wilson said.

Wilson, who has served on Gulf Coast State Colleg’se and Florida State University’s foundation boards, believes “education is the key to success.”

The former commissioner said he continues to serve on boards and encourage the youth, especially young black men, to “let them know there’s a future ahead of them; it’s not in drugs. … It’s in their inner-selves and getting an education.”

Whether in his chair, on campus, at church or a speaking engagement, Wilson said his message for the youth continues to uplift the idea of learning from and sharing with others.

From time to time, neighborhood youth visit the barbershop, open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., to talk with Wilson and embrace his counsel, he said.

He said conversation at the shop has changed a little from the civil rights era to today, but his experience has enabled him to shed some light on direction.

“Never give up; you don’t ever get to old. Any experience that you got from the past, it can still be used to help for the future. … Think about where you want to go in life and work toward that goal.”